A group of scientists Chinese, Canadian and British published an article in Science magazine about a dinosaur egg fossilized found in the central Chinese province of Jiangxi containing a 27-centimeter embryo, reported today the state channel CCTV.
The fossilized egg, elongated and 17 centimeters long, is around 70 million years old and contains one of the best preserved dinosaur embryo fossils, according to CCTV and the EFE agency.
The embryo belongs to the suborder theropods, from the Triassic period, and is nestled inside the egg in a posture, with the head between the legs, that until now had only been detected in avian dinosaurs, according to the study.
Dinosaurs and birds have similarities
Scientists discover dinosaur egg in China
This position is very similar to that of current birds when their eggs are about to hatch and we think that the dinosaurs would have hatched from their eggs in a similar way “, said one of the scientists, Fion Ma Wai-sum, to the South China Morning Post.
Ma explained to the newspaper that the fossil is further proof that today’s birds come from theropod dinosaurs. According to Ma, the embryo was about 17 days old and her egg would have hatched at 21 days.
It is worth mentioning that the area in which the egg was found, in the municipality of Ganzhou, stands out for the numerous fossils, both of dinosaurs and of eggs and plants, that it houses.
What happened to the dinosaur egg?
Scientists discover dinosaur egg in China
The egg was purchased in 2000 and spent 10 years in storage until research began on the founding of the Natural History Museum of Stone in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen, of whose collection it is a part.
This team of scientists has spent three years studying the fossil and, according to Ma, the researchers will continue the analyzes, which will include X-ray techniques to learn more about the anatomy of the embryo and other parts of its body covered by stone.
Follow us on Google News, Facebook and Twitter to stay informed.